I think the Adidas-Reebok deal is more product and marketing driven than it is price driven. |
I'm not worried about the ones that get a bad start. I would be worried about the ones that get a bad finish. |
I've seen denim that doesn't get wet, clothes that change color based on exposure to sunlight, even clothes with sun protection built into it. These new-age type products are generally more expensive. The challenge for retailers also will be to get consumers to believe that they work. |
If I bring it to you in your home, there's no real distraction, and I can get you to shop for an hour and a half. If you come in the store I'm lucky to get you to shop for 15 minutes. |
If people who are wearing this product seem to be performing better, we're going to be seeing marketing like you've never seen before. Anything that can help someone get an edge or perform better, an athlete will go to the end of the earth to get it. |
If you do it every season, it becomes expected. And the minute it becomes expected, it's no longer cultural or countercultural. This is about innovation, lifestyle and attitude. And if you are conforming to the norms of the industry, you have lost your personality and individuality. |
Image has become important again for the teen consumer — and particularly for the young adult male. This is a generation that never even knew what a suit was, let alone saw their parents in one. They have discovered the suit. |
Imagine going into Kmart and buying a Sears Craftsman tool set, or buying Kmart's Martha Stewart home products at Sears. To Kmart shoppers, Lands' End may not mean anything, but now it will. |
Is it a challenge, but the good news for them is that it has been a sleepier brand, so it's not as if they are trying to maintain a property at its peak. |
It eliminates competition. It will allow the new company to sharpen the pencil, offer better prices and goods and maybe even compete in the mass market channel. |
It has lost some of its share power. |
It's good; it's not great. |
It's not about going to the mall environment where you're fighting crowds. This is for people who shop for pleasure and treat it as a leisure activity. They want to have a relationship with the brand, be treated like royalty. |
It's really about back to basics, buying at chains like Home Depot and Lowe's. The mass merchants are reaping the benefits in a big way because it's one-stop shopping. |
It's too soon to say. In some cases even the partners don't even know it yet. |